Jeremy Corbyn supporters on NEC call for Labour members to be disciplined for 'vexatious' antisemitism claims

A source close to one of the MPs demanding that Labour adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism next week said the party should be “thoroughly and completely ashamed” about the punishment proposal.

The resolution, which is believed to have won the support of left wing trade union members among the 32 strong NEC, suggests that “an unfortunate side-effect of the party’s renewed determination to root out antisemitism has been that, in a small number of cases, false accusations have been made about Labour party members, officers and elected representatives.”

It adds: “Labour must be tough on vexatious claims made about its members and must never accept such behaviour becoming the norm.

“To be taken seriously, formal complaints about alleged wrongdoing by party members must therefore be precise and based on facts and must take into account the context within which the alleged behaviour took place.

“Complaints that do not meet these standards may be considered vexatious, in which case they may result in disciplinary charges being pursued against the complainant.” A Labour source acknowledged that the resolution had been submitted ahead of Tuesday’s NEC meeting but insisted that did not guarantee it would make the agenda.

But furious Labour MPs — including Deputy Leader Tom Watson — have said that any move to inhibit allegations of antisemitism would do further damage to the credibility of the party leadership’s efforts to address the problem. 

Last week, the JC revealed how Jeremy Corbyn was backing moves led by senior figures within the party, including Unite union chief Len McCluskey, to force through an amended version of the IHRA definition with clauses opening the door to criticism of Israel — rather than adopting the full definition with examples.

The clarification could even include protection for those who claim that the state of Israel could be termed ‘racist’ in its handling of the Palestinian issue.

One option said to be being considered by the pro-Corbyn faction on the NEC is for Labour to follow the lead of the Commons Home Affairs Committee’s own amended definition, which in 2016 included two key caveats on the need to protect free speech. 

The committee stated: “It is not antisemitic to criticise the Government of Israel, without additional evidence to suggest antisemitic intent.

“It is not antisemitic to hold the Israeli Government to the same standards as other liberal democracies, or to take a particular interest in the Israeli Government’s policies or actions, without additional evidence to suggest antisemitic intent.”

But crucially, the Home Affairs Select Committee report into antisemitism was widely praised by the Jewish community after it was published in 2016.

Unlike the current Labour leadership, the committee took evidence from then Board President Jonathan Arkush, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, then Jewish Leadership Council chairman Sir Mick Davis and Mark Gardner of the Community Security Trust.

It is understood that the left-wing NEC faction may include both of the Select Committee’s caveats — but also add further amendments of their own.

Labour MP Ian Austin said: “The leadership has got itself into a terrible hole and they need to stop digging.

“First, the IHRA definition explicitly allows the criticism of Israel so it does not need rewriting or changing and the Labour leadership would probably be the last people the Jewish community would ask if it did. But second, I think we’ve gone a long way beyond this now and people are questioning whether Jeremy can sort it out.

“He’s got to make this his number one priority and he’s got to address his own responsibility for this crisis.

“Adopting the full IHRA definition and all the examples is just the first step to repairing the damage.

“He’s got to listen carefully to the reasonable requests the Jewish representative bodies — the Jewish Leadership Council and the Board of Deputies — made months ago, respond to them properly, boot the racists out without further delay and really show there is no place for antisemitism in our party.”

Jennifer Gerber, director of Labour Friends of Israel said: “This apparent partial climb-down by the Labour party remains unacceptable. 

“The Jewish community has made its view clearly and repeatedly: that the party adopt the full IHRA definition as the UK government, 31 other countries, 130 local councils, the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the judiciary have done.

“We fail to understand why Labour wishes to place the right of antisemites to describe Israel as a racist state above the expressed and totally justifiable wishes of British Jews.”

Over the past week, left-wingers have continued to lobby the 32 NEC members in a social media campaign, sending over 1,000 emails calling for them to reject demands to adopt the IHRA definition.

There are claims that the social media campaign is linked to supporters of Peter Willsman, the far-left NEC member who was exposed by the JC over his Jewish ‘Trump fanatics’ rant at a previous July 17 meeting of the ruling body.